New Lenox bloodhound sharpens skills in N.Y.

May 28, 2013|By Patrick Guinane, Special to the Tribune

New Lenox firefighter/paramedic Greg Gaj, left, Red, and New Lenox firefighter/paramedic Frank Hasik earlier this month during Red's training at Allegany State Park in southwestern New York state. (Handout, New Lenox Fire Department)

Red's nose led him from New Lenox to New York and back.

As the only canine search team member for the New Lenox Fire Protection District, Red is always on call.

Earlier this month, the call came for him to head to Salamanca, N.Y., for a week of training through the National Police Bloodhound Association. Handlers Frank Hasik and Greg Gaj, both firefighters/paramedics, led the way.

"He did very well. He didn't mess up one trail all week," Gaj said. "Once he gets harnessed up he is ready to go; he's in doggy heaven."

Heaven, at least for a week, was Allegany State Park, a 65,000-acre expanse in southwestern New York that is the state's largest park. It has beaches, forested valleys and plenty of trails.

This was strictly a business trip for Red, who, as a bloodhound, tracks by scent rather than ground disturbances such as footprints or disturbed brush.

The first day started with short, relatively simple trails in which the scent was less than an hour old. For starters, Red would be given a scent article simulating an item lost by someone who is missing or evading police.

"It started out with us using a sock or a shoe," Gaj said.

Then it got more difficult, tracking scents that were 24 to 36 hours old.

"There were a couple of scenarios we did where we didn't have a scent article," Gaj said. "We imitated a residential break-in. Say the guy touched a windowsill. We basically laid a gauze pad down on that windowsill, absorbed some of that scent and that's what was used to start the dog on his trail."

About 60 dogs and their handlers traveled to New York for the 40-hour certification training session. The National Police Bloodhound Association typically hosts three such sessions a year.

Back home in New Lenox, Red lives at the fire protection district's Station 4, where Gaj and Hasik work.

Red helped search when a 13-year-old girl went missing in Frankfort earlier this month. (She was found unharmed a few hours later.) Red also gets the call if, for instance, an Alzheimer's patient wanders off or the driver at fault in a car wreck flees the scene.

The department adopted Red from Chicagoland Dog Rescue about 21/2 years ago. He was just past his first birthday when he was taken in and immediately began work as a professional bloodhound.

"It's a natural thing for them. Red picked up on it very quickly," Gaj said. "Within a couple weeks, puppy trails were out of the picture."